The FBI on Thursday identified human remains found in a Florida nature preserve as those of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito while the couple was on a cross-country road trip.
The remains, a backpack and notebook believed to belong to Laundrie were discovered Wednesday in a Florida wilderness park, according to the FBI. The area where they were found had been under water during earlier searches.
The FBI’s Denver office said in a news release that a comparison of dental records confirmed that the remains were Laundrie.
Steve Bertolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family, said the family had been told the remains were his shortly after investigators were seen visiting Laundrie’s home in Sarasota.
“Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are indeed Brian’s,” Bertolino wrote in a text message. “We have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the Laundrie’s privacy at this time.”
Laundrie’s parents took part in the search Wednesday with the FBI and police from North Port, Florida, more than a month after Laundrie was reported missing after heading to the vast Carlton Reserve park.
A senior law enforcement official told NBC News on Wednesday that what appear to be partial human remains were found near a backpack consistent with items that Laundrie may have had, according to NBC producer Shawn Reynolds.
“After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented some articles belonging to Brian were found,” Bertolino said in a text to The Associated Press.
The FBI field office in Tampa also issued a statement Wednesday on Twitter confirming that “items of interest” were found in the Laundrie search.
“An FBI Evidence Response team is processing the scene. The reserve is closed to the public and no further details are available at this time,” the statement said Wednesday.
The Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed it had been summoned to the reserve but would not comment further.
Laundrie, 23, was a person of interest in the killing of Petito, who was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents while the couple was on a cross-country trip out West.
The case generated enormous public interest but also raised uncomfortable questions over the unequal attention given to the hundreds of cases of Native American and other minority women missing or murdered across the United States. Petito is white.
Petito’s body was found Sept. 19 on the edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited. The coroner there concluded she died of strangulation and her body had been where it was found for three or four weeks.
The couple was stopped Aug. 12 by police in Moab, Utah, after they had a physical altercation, but no charges were filed.
Laundrie returned home alone Sept. 1 in the Ford van the couple took on their trip. He was reported missing after telling his parents on Sept. 14 that he was going for a hike in the Carlton Reserve, a nature preserve in Sarasota County that has for weeks been a key area in the search.
The activity Wednesday was focused on the nearby Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, where television news reports showed numerous law enforcement vehicles arriving and a tent set up inside the woods. The location is where a Ford Mustang that Laundrie drove to the wilderness was found.
Laundrie was charged in a federal Wyoming indictment with unauthorized use of a debit card, which would allow authorities to arrest him if he is found alive.
It alleges Laundrie used a Capital One Bank card and someone’s personal identification number to make unauthorized withdrawals or charges worth more than $1,000. It does not say to whom the card belonged or what type of charges were made.
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